CORSER TAKES TWO MONZA PODIUMS

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser rode his heart out at today’s World Superbike fourth round at Monza to take two well-deserved podiums on his GSX-R1000.

The reigning world champion showed his ‘never give up’ spirit in both 18-lap races: He had front brake problems in race one and nearly crashed twice, but still managed third place behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Alex Barros (Honda). And in race two, he and Bayliss traded the lead for most of the 18-lapper, but his Suzuki could not quite match the Ducatis’ acceleration out of the turns and when Bayliss pulled out a small advantage Corser could not push any harder and catch up. Bayliss crossed the line to take his second win of the day, with Corser second and Noriyuki Haga third.

It was an unlucky day for team mate Yukio Kagayama: In the first race, he got taken out when James Toseland highsided next to him and crashed. And in the second, he was forced to retire with clutch problems.

“Today, like at Valencia, I rode as hard as I could and when you do that and don’t win, you just have to reach out and shake the hand of the winner. In race one, I had some front brake problems. The lever was inconsistent and sometimes it’d be ok and sometimes it would come nearly all the way back to the bar! That made it a bit entertaining, I can tell you! I nearly crashed a couple of times, so in the end I was happy to get on the podium.

“There were no real problems in race two and there was just no way I could have ridden any harder. The Ducati can accelerate out of the turns like no other bike - especially the four cylinder ones - and their traction control allows Bayliss to get on the gas hard when the bike is still leant over. We cannot do that, and that is where we lose ground and time. It’s a little frustrating to ride so hard and not win, so we’ll have to figure out what to do and try and get our own back in Silverstone.”

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF:

“Today I am not a lucky man. Really, it’s not that I had no luck, I did have luck, but it was all bad luck! In the first race I was next to Toseland when he highsided and we touched. I went down and crashed but the impact of my bike helped to stay on his bike and recover, so he was a lucky man. In race two, I had clutch problems and it was impossible to continue so I had to pull in. I hope for better luck next time.”

Fabien Foret - Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 13th:

“I was not so happy with my result in the first race because we had some small problems, I made a good start but then a little problem with my front tyre meant I couldn’t push hard and so I didn’t enjoy the race. I was much happier with race two because I was involved in a good battle with Lanzi, Nakatomi and Fabrizio. We used the same bike as race one, but just changed the settings a little and it felt much better. Also, my lap times were much more consistent. I am a little disappointed overall because before this weekend I wanted to get into the top 10, so now I will try and do it in the next round in Silverstone.”

For more stories about Troy Corser, click here. For photos, click here.
For more stories about Yukio Kagayama, click here. For photos, click here.
For more stories about Fabien Foret, click here. For photos, click here.

SUZUKI SOCIAL

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